Traditionally, circular meat saw blades, such as those to cut poultry, are of two general types. Included within a first type of meat blade are blades that end consumers observe at deli counters. Circular deli-style blades are used to cut products such as cheese, processed meats, such as “cold cuts,” and pre-cooked non-processed meats, such as ham and turkey. Circular deli blades are typically characterized by a sharp, beveled cutting edge, as viewed into a cross-sectional plane that includes the rotation axis, and a constant, circular radius as viewed from either side. Blades of this first type are generally unsuitable for use in the initial butchering stages in which the meats being cut are raw and include bone, cartilage, tendon, and non-edible soft tissue.
In order to butcher meats, including poultry, shortly after slaughter, a second type of circular meat saw blade is used. As viewed from either side, a circular blade of the second type is typically marked by a plurality of circumferentially disposed U-shaped notches that are convex relative to the rotation axis of the blade. The particular purpose for which such a blade is designed is a factor in determining how deep the notches are defined and for what length each extends along the circumference of the blade. As a general proposition, however, it is known in the meat industry that such blades, while robust and sufficiently “aggressive” to cut through bone and cartilage, for example, result in non-negligible losses of otherwise edible and salable meat product. This undesired shredding and “tearing off” of meat is currently factored as a price of doing business.
Accordingly, there exists a need for a circular meat cutting blade that, while sufficiently robust to cut through animal bone and cartilage, minimizes the loss of meat product associated with traditional meat cutting blades.